One of the league’s toughest competitors will be featured on the cover of the most recent installment of the popular NBA 2K video game series. Kobe Bryant, a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, has been chosen to appear on NBA 2K24’s cover for the fourth time. The 24th release of the well-known franchise, NBA 2K24, also corresponds to one of Bryant’s famous jersey numbers from his 20-year NBA career.
8️⃣ ♾️2️⃣4️⃣
Sharing the Mamba Mentality with the next generation. Introducing our #NBA2K24 cover athlete, Kobe Bryant.
💛 Kobe Bryant Edition
🐍 Black Mamba EditionPre-order your copy tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/afcqMh5qr8
— NBA 2K (@NBA2K) July 6, 2023
Bryant initially made an appearance on NBA 2K10’s cover. Additionally, he was featured on the special edition athlete cover of NBA2K17, and a Mamba Forever Edition of NBA2K21 was released in his honor after his passing in January 2020.
Greg Thomas, president of Visual Concepts, the company that created NBA 2K with Kobe Bryant, stated in an announcement that “As we commemorate Kobe Bryant’s legacy and the generational impact he has had on the game of basketball, we celebrate 25 years of NBA 2K with Kobe Bryant.”
The “Kobe Bryant Edition” and the “Black Mamba Edition” are the two NBA 2K24 covers that players can choose from, and fans can pre-order their copies starting on Friday. Additionally, 2K has not yet revealed the standard edition cover star, who will most likely be an active NBA player in keeping with tradition.
Who has been the cover athlete the most?
If you also wonder who has appeared on the cover the most times over NBA 2K’s long history, the name is Allen Iverson. For appearing on NBA 2K’s cover the most times, Iverson now holds the record. He appeared on the covers of five different 2K games: 2K, 2K1, 2K2, 2K3, and ESPN 2K4 Standard Edition. With four covers (2K11, 2K12, 2K16, and 2K23), Michael Jordan comes in right behind him.
With four covers (2K10, 2K17, 2K21 Mamba Edition, and 2K24), Kobe Bryant, meanwhile, is tied for second place. The only other athletes to appear on the video game’s back-to-back covers are Iverson, Shaquille O’Neal (2K6 and 2K7), and Michael Jordan (2K11 and 2K12).
After appearing in NBA 2K21 at the age of 20, Zion Williamson replaced Anthony Davis (NBA 2K16) and Chris Paul (NBA 2K8) as the youngest player to appear on the cover in 2020. At the age of 22, Paul and Davis were on the front cover.
In 2K22, which commemorated the WNBA’s 25th anniversary, WNBA player Candace Parker became the first woman to appear on the magazine’s cover. Numerous NBA stars have also gone unrepresented on any 2K cover. Russell Westbrook, Tracy McGrady, Tim Duncan, Kawhi Leonard, Vince Carter, Steve Nash, Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, Jason Kidd, and Paul Pierce are among them, according to Marsha Green of NBA Sports Chicago.